My parents had no concept of child labor laws…I started mowing the lawn with a riding lawnmower at the age of 6.

Yes, I said 6.

I made $3 each time I mowed the lawn…

usually on a Friday afternoon…

usually took several hours.

When I was 8 or so I decided that I needed to extend my skill set and I started ironing for 25 cents a shirt and cleaning the bathroom* for a dollar.

*My negotiation for cleaning the bathroom also included one demand…scrubbing bubbles.  My mother had a strict “if you saw it on TV we don’t buy it rule” that she made an exception for in the case of the bubbles.  I am now suspicious that she just was ready to hand off cleaning the bathroom and I could have also held out for a buck fifty.

I was so excited the first time I got to use the scrubbing bubbles.  I leaned over our pink tub, sprayed the white foamy stuff and sat back to watch the little animated scrub-brushes swirl around the tub in a counter-clockwise direction while leaving gleaming stars in their wake and then zoom down the drain.

I was a little disappointed that the ACTUAL scrubbing bubbles didn’t appear, but might admit to imagining they were there each time I cleaned the bathroom.

Fast forward 32 years:  *gasp* I was contacted to throw a party here in Dallas to announce a new scrubbing bubbles product for a small group of fellow bloggers at a spa.

Ummmm…yes.

Love the product,

love other bloggers,

love the spa.

The party was this weekend and it was a really, really, really good time.

The new Scrubbing Bubble Product helps moms fight the morning madness.  It is called Extend-A-Clean and you once you use it, it continues to work over the next few days.  I have found this incredibly helpful for a trouble area in my house…the boys’ sink which accumulates small glops of toothpaste at an alarming rate.  Once I used Extend-A-Clean on their sink, it was easier to rinse out the wayward paste.

The bloggers were greeted at the spa with this sign:

Wow. I was impressed with how legitimate they made me look.  It is amazing how a poster can convey credibility…who knew?

I am going to carry around that poster everywhere.

Everywhere.

Like a business card…only I am not giving it away.

Ever.

It was so fun to hang out with everyone:

photo stolen with permission from Texan Mama

* Amy – Living Locurto & IHeartFaces * Mariah -  Humphries Nation * Lynley -  Save The Phillips Family * Rebekah – DFW Mama * Candace – MamaMia * Angela * me * Gretchen – Who Put Me In Charge Of These People??? * Shauna – Blah Blah Blog * Rachel – Quirky Momma * Laurie – Tip Junkie * Bianca – Becoming Bianca * Cynthia – Oh So Cynthia * Kim – Savor The Days * not pictured Shannon – Milk and Cuddles & Lea Ann – Mommy’s Wish List *

And then there was the spa.

Four Seasons.

Enough said.

All in all it was a wonderful morning that I would be willing to repeat on a weekly basis…hint, hint to the Bubbles.

Oh!

And the poster that lends credibility to my little blogging hobby…

…now resides on my mantle.

Hey!

Hurry – 48 hour contest to win…

Go to Burb Mom and leave a comment here to win one of several $50 off at Old Navy…

You know you would use it.

I am starting a new REALITY CHECK series over at Burb Mom. I am not going to post the follow up stories here, but wanted to let ya know what I was doing over there in case you want to follow along.

For the next month I am going to play THE GROCERY GAME.

The Grocery Game is a website that you join to get specific local information about coupons, specials and freebies at the grocery stores you frequent. It says that if you follow the instructions you can save a lot of money without spending a lot of time devoted to coupon clipping.

The Verdict?

Too early to tell.

The post-shopping Reality Report:

The Grocery Game website is a little awkward, but once I figured out a few things I was able to navigate it pretty easily. I was surprised that when I entered my zip code a whole list of local grocery and drug stores appeared. Once you choose the stores you want to follow the “rules” and shopping lists are available to print.

I will admit to being VERY FRUSTRATED that there were no coupons in the Sunday paper. Since it has been YEARS since I have clipped coupons I wondered if maybe the paper had discontinued them. I Googled and searched and tried to ask a question on The Grocery Game’s website (which was closed for Easter) and finally found the no holiday coupon clause on the actual shopping list. UGH.

There are pages and pages of reading on The Grocery Game website that I felt like I needed to review to get started. It is overwhelming at first. I kept thinking that they could give some instructions to ease beginners into the system. I may be more clueless than their average mom in this area, but it does seem complicated.

I am going to keep an open mind since…I haven’t even gone shopping yet!

Next time over at BurbMom.net: Shopping trip #1 without manufacturers coupons *sigh*…

Today is another day on our quest for cheap meals with the help of Oprah and Chef Cat Cora! Holly squeals with excitement hoping to over come her kitchen fatigue.

Today is day four of the Chef Cat Cora 21 meal menu as seen on the Oprah show.

Let’s make breakfast!

Lemon-Pecan Pancakes

These pancakes took only a few minutes from batter to plate. They were easy. THEY WERE GOOD.

We are talking fine dining good.

Read more about the rest of the day and the yummy pancakes by clicking here over to burbmom.net…

Whew. We felt pretty good making it through day one of the Chef Cat Cora 21 meal menu as seen on Oprah.

And then we realized that day two would mean three homemade meals.

Three homemade meals.

I think I can…I think I can…I think I can.

Let’s make breakfast!

We decided to try:

Egg Whites, Turkey Bacon and Low Fat Cheddar Tortilla Wraps

This was also one of the recipes that Chef Cora demonstrated on the Oprah show in the home of an ordinary family. Bianca tackled this breakfast and when I saw it I was surprised because I could have sworn that on the TV show it looked yellow – like the whole egg was used. I checked the website and they mention use of only egg whites…

And I just have to ask WHY?

First of all, separating the 6 yolks from the 6 whites seemed cruel…they seemed so happy together.

Then disposing of the 6 yolks since none of the recipes in the 21 meal menu uses them seems very wasteful.

And third, by only using the egg whites the total recipe size seemed small.

And fourth, I LIKE the taste of the yolks.

And fifth, the yolks contain a bunch of nutrients that the whites do not.

And finally, none of my family members have high cholesterol or have special dietary needs and let’s be frank…eating a few egg yolks is MUCH better for them then what they might have been eating on any other given morning for breakfast.

Sorry, I got a little caught up in my pro-yolk agenda.

Click here for the rest of this 7 day menu story…

Someone recently lamented to me that “Americans follow Oprah like sheep”.

Really?

A few days ago I breezed through my TiVo’d Oprah episode from last week that told the story of three professional chefs “living with” three ordinary families and making-over the family meals to be cheap, healthy and easy.

There is no way that works.

Especially for my family – “ordinary” would be a compliment in the kitchen to me.

I decided to try the Chef Cat Cora’s 21 meal menu. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family of four for under $150.

It is a multi-media extravaganza of What was Holly thinking?

I will be posting the results daily over at Burbmom.net.

Just click on the baaaaaa baaaaaa.…